LOS ANGELES—Shelly Sterling, wife of Donald Sterling, will be able to proceed with a record-breaking $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers against his will, a Los Angeles probate judge said in a tentative oral ruling on Monday.

Judge Michael Levanas agreed with Ms. Sterling in a case that has pitted her against her husband over the sale of the team. Three issues hung in the balance in the ruling: Whether Mr. Sterling was removed as co-trustee in a way that complied with the terms of the Sterling Family Trust;...